Church and Science

I was on a walk with Finn the other day and we passed by an old church that had been converted to condos. Although the prices were ridiculous, it was really nice because they kept the exterior as a church but renovated the interior to make it living space. Anyway, it got me thinking that IMHO church and religion as we know it is really a species on the verge of extinction. I think that really science and scientific study has replaced it. In a sense this isn't unlike ancient monasteries that were the centres of knowledge in their day. They've just been replaced by centres of scientific study (ever heard of anyone going on a pilgrimage to Cape Canaveral to watch the shuttle launch—it happens all the time). I think if the scientific community added a bit of ceremony and flourish, maybe a robe or two, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a PhD in physics giving a lecture on the big bang and a minister talking about creationism (content aside). I seem to remember one of the Asimov Foundation books playing on this theme where people essentially worshiped technological objects and the scientists that made them and understood how they worked. Of course even today, technological objects are "worshiped" as fetish objects—can you say blackberry.

Makeout Music

After I put the kids to bed I spent the rest of the evening making a mixed CD of good makeout music. I was inspired by a Peter Elkas song "Will Power" I heard on the CBC Radio 3 podcast. I've already got some good tunes on there but any suggestions are welcome.